Expressing Emotions

[I Like Sushu]

What comes more natural to the human heart the desire to express “positive” thoughts of joy, hope optimism and love, or the desire to express “negative” thoughts of pain, suffering, hate, rage and pessimism?

My view is that people generally have a natural disposition to express more “negative” thoughts and feelings than they do more “positive” thoughts and feelings.

Also, what are your thoughts about “Cartharsis” in respect to Aristotle and the various interpretations of this term (not particularly interested in dictionary definitions as this has remained a contentious issue among scholars for quite some time!)

[odysseus]

I Like Sushu
What comes more natural to the human heart the desire to express “positive” thoughts of joy, hope optimism and love, or the desire to express “negative” thoughts of pain, suffering, hate, rage and pessimism?

My view is that people generally have a natural disposition to express more “negative” thoughts and feelings than they do more “positive” thoughts and feelings.

Also, what are your thoughts about “Cartharsis” in respect to Aristotle and the various interpretations of this term (not particularly interested in dictionary definitions as this has remained a contentious issue among scholars for quite some time!)

Better to limit entanglements and keep a steady eye on being independent emotionally. Not like the Stoics or the Epicureans; more like the Buddhists: above it all, yet deeply committed the nameless joy of Being here.

[Sculptor]

My view is that people generally have a natural disposition to express more “negative” thoughts and feelings than they do more “positive” thoughts and feelings.

Where do you live?
Or more to the point, how do you live with regard to social interaction?

[Walker]

We get on the subway and the junkie up there is having a bad morning. Needs a fix, acting like ants in his pants, on his arms, in his hair. We change cars, within minutes he follows. Okay. A circling shark. Now he’s at the other end of the car eyeballing us, loud mutters in harsh tones, a whack or two to his own dirty doo, working up to something. Quick and jerky, sometimes a shout. Yep. Pretty obvious. A great big old black man set to ride backwards turns to look at him, then turns and looks at us, facing us from his chair, still holding his paper but not reading, staring right at us and I can practically hear him thinking … this should be interesting. We stand out. We look different like, what are you doing here fools, and I’m thinking back, we are free humans and we go where we please. I’m thinking, I’d sure hate to crack that junkie over the head, it just won’t go well for all concerned. Imaginative pre-play: collar bone crush, hook the weight-bearing ankle with the J-hook, quick step back, down he goes and no yanking required. Then, a change and it’s out of our hands. The train stops, the doors open, a sea of humanity pours in. Hundreds of uniformed British teenagers filling every train car. Nothing but laughter, bright faces, chatter, energy. The car is packed, standing room is shoulder-to-shoulder. I chat up the nearest tall boy, rosy cheeks that have never felt a razor either vertical or horizontal. Lovely musical accents all around and we can’t help but smile and laugh too, for our own reasons. They’re part of the WSJ* as it says on their kerchiefs under the Union Jack, they’re on their North American excursion, he tells me their itinerary and I think, such privileged youth these boys and girls who at this moment, are actually washing away the darkness with sheer presence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhrg6SH9yvE



* https://www.scout.org/jamboree

[zoey]

Sometimes extreme joy and sorrow just burst through. The stoic can hold it in, but occasionally it bursts through the cracks.

[I Like Sushu]

My view is that people generally have a natural disposition to express more “negative” thoughts and feelings than they do more “positive” thoughts and feelings.

Where do you live?
Or more to the point, how do you live with regard to social interaction?

Irrelevant. Sensationalism dictates that bad news rules. We’re not fed feel good stories because the market shows us such things don’t sell.

[Sculptor]

My view is that people generally have a natural disposition to express more “negative” thoughts and feelings than they do more “positive” thoughts and feelings.

Where do you live?
Or more to the point, how do you live with regard to social interaction?

Irrelevant. Sensationalism dictates that bad news rules. We’re not fed feel good stories because the market shows us such things don’t sell.

FFS. How can your experience of people generally be irrelevant to a thread of discussion which is all about your experience of people's general disposition to negativity.
PLONK!

[I Like Sushu]

Where do you live?
Or more to the point, how do you live with regard to social interaction?

Irrelevant. Sensationalism dictates that bad news rules. We’re not fed feel good stories because the market shows us such things don’t sell.

FFS. How can your experience of people generally be irrelevant to a thread of discussion which is all about your experience of people's general disposition to negativity.
PLONK!

Answer the OP then FFS!

Where I live and my social life is none of your fucking business - it is IRRELEVANT to the question posed. As it seems you are to me.

[Sculptor]

Irrelevant. Sensationalism dictates that bad news rules. We’re not fed feel good stories because the market shows us such things don’t sell.

FFS. How can your experience of people generally be irrelevant to a thread of discussion which is all about your experience of people's general disposition to negativity.
PLONK!

Answer the OP then FFS!

Where I live and my social life is none of your fucking business - it is IRRELEVANT to the question posed. As it seems you are to me.

LOL
Well, well, well. I suppose some people just see negativity wherever they go.
Never mind - look on the bright side, as least you like Sushi. Just don't die of the dangers of Sushi; Listeria, salmonella, and tapeworms ..

[vegetariantaxidermy]

'News' tends to be bad by default. Good news would be that they have discovered how to reverse global warming. Good news would be that a cure for cancer has been found. There aren't many things that would qualify as 'good news' that are big enough to capture people's interest en masse. Hurricanes, earthquakes, wars, 'danger from a distance', are what interest humans. How would reporters even find 'good news'? And one man's 'good news' might be another man's 'bad news'.

[mrgrtt123]

I feel like people do share their bad experiences to gain sympathy. A friend of mine always post her pet memory plaques and as usual, a lot of her friends on social media tries to comfort her.

[Dubious]

What comes more natural to the human heart the desire to express “positive” thoughts of joy, hope optimism and love, or the desire to express “negative” thoughts of pain, suffering, hate, rage and pessimism?

My view is that people generally have a natural disposition to express more “negative” thoughts and feelings than they do more “positive” thoughts and feelings.

The answer to that should be obvious. For one thing negative thoughts, as with pain, are far more intense than thoughts of pleasure and well-being. Schopenhauer already understood that long ago. The lows go lower than the highs go high. Second, there's less and less to feel positive about. If you want to give yourself more "buoyancy" turn off the news because most of what's reported only serves to enrage and demoralize.